Analysis Of Political Giving Puts Haslams On Top In Tennessee

A new analysis of political contributions nationwide in 2012 shows the Haslam family as the leading political donors in Tennessee. The Sunlight Foundation has released a list of elite political donors, what it calls the “one percent of one percent”.

There were 430 people on the list from Tennessee, contributing almost $17.3 million as a group in 2012. Eight are members of the Haslam family, who collectively made political donations of more than $743,000 last year. Not surprisingly, the largest amount of Haslam family contributions last year was the 2014 re-election campaign fund for Governor Bill Haslam.

The Sunlight Foundation reports that the “elite political donors” dominated campaign donations nationwide in 2012, with a median individual contribution of $26,584.